How Sound Interacts with Our Body: A Dynamic Resonance

In my article “A Dynamic Resonance,” recently published in The Harp Therapy Journal (HTJ, Fall 2025, 119), I present an observational analysis of 67 individual VibroAcoustic Harp Therapy (VAHT) sessions carried out in my studio in Bologna between January 2024 and June 2025. The sample is heterogeneous: about 70% women and 30% men; on one side, people with clinical conditions (post-chemotherapy, fibromyalgia pain, chronic tension, endometriosis, post-operative phases, psychosomatic disorders), and on the other, healthy individuals interested in body awareness and well-being.

Each session follows the same methodological framework: a brief initial conversation, then a vibroacoustic “assessment” in which I play diatonic notes (generally in C major) across five octaves, from C1 (32 Hz) to C6 (>1046 Hz), and finally a central phase of therapeutic improvisation inspired by what emerged, followed by integration and feedback. I recorded in real time the perceived frequencies, activated body areas, the quality of the sensation (pleasant / neutral / unpleasant), verbal-emotional-somatic reactions, and psychophysical state pre/post. Although these are qualitative data, this tracking allows longitudinal and comparative readings of individual patterns and collective trends.

The overall results are clear: in all sessions, participants reported a localized physical perception of the vibrations and an immediate reduction in tension/pain/discomfort from the very first session. The most frequent words used to describe the experience were calm, release, lightness, openness, and “bodily awakening.” Sometimes certain frequencies feel uncomfortable or some areas respond with unease: these are often points already engaged in therapeutic work and become opportunities for release (tears are not uncommon).

The central point I propose is the idea of dynamic resonance. Within the same session (≈60 minutes), the perceptual map evolves: initially the body “feels” only certain vibrations; after 20–30 minutes, awareness expands, the vibration flows more freely, and the bodily structure becomes more receptive, as if sound were “opening internal doors.” This dynamic—sound seeking new spaces of resonance—is an indicator of fluidity and well-being; conversely, an absence of sensations or experiences of closure/tension/blockage signal areas that require listening.

I acknowledge the existence of resonance by sympathy: when a frequency activates one or more body parts in vibrational agreement. However, no universal frequency-organ map emerges; rather, each person shows a unique, time-situated profile. In a previous article (1) I called this profile the “individual sonic imprint”: like a fingerprint that can vary from session to session, with the same frequency sometimes resonating in distant areas, or the same area activated by different frequencies. In some cases, the vibration is perceived “beyond” the physical body (especially around the head and back), a finding compatible with the hypothesis of the human electromagnetic field’s involvement.

Alongside individual uniqueness, I observed “horizontal” regularities linked to bodily octaves. Perceptual responses organize with notable coherence into five ascending bands: 32–65 Hz (legs), 65–132 Hz (pelvis), 132–261 Hz (thorax), 261–523 Hz (upper thorax/shoulders/neck), 523–1046+ Hz (head).

In follow-ups, returning subjects show fairly stable patterns (the same areas activated by similar frequencies). Gender differences also emerge: women tend to perceive more often in the upper half (thorax, head; ~261–1046 Hz), men more in the lower half (legs, pelvis; ~32–261 Hz). There are very mobile profiles, with marked shifts between sessions (e.g., from the thoracic center to the head, or from mid to high frequencies), which call for a flexible, adaptive approach.

After the vibroacoustic mapping, musical improvisation (on simple modal cycles) functions as an integration phase: here participants report balance, alignment, and relief, sometimes with dreamlike images, colors or moving shapes, or sensations of expansion “beyond” the body. To support continuity and therapeutic containment, tonal coherence (a stable tonal center or modal structure) proved crucial, as did avoiding excessive tonal jumps.

Overall, these data support three key messages for those approaching vibrational therapies, resonance, harp therapy, and sound therapy:

1. resonance exists by sympathy, but manifests as an “individual sonic imprint” that cannot be reduced to fixed tables;

2. the body shows horizontal differentiations coherent with the octaves, from bottom to top;

3. above all, resonance is dynamic: sound finds its way, explores, connects, and when the vibrational flow widens we observe signs of well-being and fluidity, while an absence of perception or a sense of closure suggests blockages to be accompanied with listening and graduality.

   
   

Although preliminary, the evidence collected—clear and localized perception in all subjects, immediate easing of tension, the emergence of personal resonance maps—indicates VAHT’s potential as a complementary support in both clinical and preventive settings, and opens research pathways at the intersection of music, psychosomatics, and vibrational sciences.

Read the full article here

(1) Gubri, Marianne, Human as a Multidimensional Harp: A Convergence between Therapeutic Music and Vibroacoustic Harp Therapy. Journal of the Interdisciplinary Society for Quantitative Research in Music and Medicine, Vol. 7.